Total anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from the sectors energy, industrial processes, solvent and other product use, agriculture, land use change and forestry, and waste. Natural emissions are not accounted for in this indicator. The unit of measurement is tonnes N2O per year. The indicator is linked to the indicators of other greenhouse gases. Furthermore, the indicator is linked with those in the area of Ozone Depletion. Due to the long lifetime of N2O, N2O emissions can reach the stratosphere and affect the destruction of the ozone layer.

Moreover, ozone is also a greenhouse gas, and therefore changes in stratospheric ozone should be considered in assessing climate change. The main sources of anthropogenic N2O are intensive agriculture using high levels of fertilisers, and a number of industrial processes. Natural sources are poorly quantified, but are probably twice as large as anthropogenic sources. Natural emissions are not accounted for in this indicator.

The radiative forcing capacity (RF) is the amount of energy per unit area per unit time, absorbed by the greenhouse gas, that would otherwise be lost to space.